It Takes 450 Years For Disposable Face Mask To Decompose. How To Deal With Disposable Masks?

With the impact of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, more and more people are used to wearing masks to go out, and disposable masks have become an indispensable daily consumable for people. The world is constantly increasing the production capacity of disposable masks, but after use The disposal of disposable masks has also become a hot spot of concern in various countries.

Raw materials and degradation time of disposable masks

Disposable masks are generally composed of a meltblown filter layer and non-woven fabric. The hanging ears are mainly rubber band plastics. Because of the particularity of non-woven materials, they can block dust, saliva and viruses. However, due to their stable properties, natural Degradation generally takes decades, while plastic products take longer to degrade, taking 100 to 200 years.

existing processing mode

Masks are full of saliva, bacteria, viruses and microorganisms after use. If these masks are discarded at will, they will cause cross-infection and create greater risks. For the general public, we must first do a good job in the safe handling of our masks. When taking off the mask, do not touch the surface and inside of the mask, try to remove it by holding the hanging ears to avoid contact with bacteria. Fold the mask in half with the contact surface facing out, tie the mask with the hanging ears, and put it in the designated trash can, take the initiative to sort the garbage, and wait for professionals to handle it. In order to prevent those who wish to recycle the discarded masks, the masks can also be cut into pieces and continue to be disposed of. Disposable masks cannot be recycled and must be replaced in time. In the past, the scope of use of disposable medical masks was relatively small. In addition to operating according to the medical waste treatment process, the amount of natural degradation was also within a controllable range. Now masks have become a necessity. Although there are dedicated trash cans for recycling, follow-up There is no unified standard for the treatment process in various countries. Basically, the method of burial or incineration is adopted. Because of the relatively light weight, discarded masks have appeared in many border sea areas, causing serious environmental pollution.